Innovation3 Composites is young company based in Palma de Mallorca working with high end composites of the super yacht industry, be it major structural modifications or luxury components. Year on year the number of yachts being built in composites is increasing. This year we have seen some of the traditional Dutch yards venturing into full composite construction. Driven by the present global awareness of climate change this has all sectors looking at fuel efficiency as a major design component. The super yacht industry is increasingly looking to composites and it’s unbeatable weight savings for the answer by improving efficiency.

Standing rigging lead the way. Nowadays there are very few aluminium rigs over the 50 footer mark being built. The properties of carbon fibre are perfect for the application. Plus, as the costs of carbon fibre and related materials come down and the need for fuel efficiency comes up these materials are no longer as exotic as they once were.

That said composites is not an easy industry to work in. The variables are many, and the consequences of bad workmanship are serious. The Innovation3 Composites expert team has come from racing yacht construction, when you are working on the build of these high performance craft the margin for error is very small. Tolerances are minimal and the constant chase for weight savings mean that everything is built close to it’s working limits. This means that as a builder you have to follow the drawings to the letter. However the lesser details of build sequence core bond for example are left to builders discretion. Only experience can teach you which processes can be applied in which situations. For example this can come down to what the weather is doing that day.

Components are a very good example of where carbon fibre is the right choice. Carbon fibre components are becoming less exotic and more affordable all the time. The right techniques need to be applied to deliver a cost effective service, for example infusion, wet lamination, pre-preg. The costs of the moulds required can be a shock but this can be reduced considerably by the use of our in house CNC machine. This not only reduces labour costs in making the moulds but the quality is excellent and this in turn reduces labour on the finished part.

In 2015 for example Innovation3 Composites delivered several large semi-custom passerelles where we utilised the fact that we can produce the tooling in-house. This considerably reduced the cost of what is a still a custom component. We then took this a step further by designing the next generation of moulds so their dimensions can be changed to suit a range of semi-custom passerelles.

On request Innovation3 Composites made several large passerelles in the 4m range which were wider than is available from the main stream. Using infusion and a open mould technique the cost was 70% of the closest mainstream supplier. The weight of 4m with four post handrail passerelle is 17kg and this includes 3.5kg of metal fittings for connection to yacht and wheels.

For 2016 Innovation3 Composites will extend this semi-custom model into wheels, davits, swim ladders, and other parts which can be utilised by various yachts.

For more information please call +34 971254223 or visit www.i3composites.com